New Delhi: The Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel Dharmendra Pradhan has said that the demand of steel in the country has seen substantial increase and is expected to increase further in the future as India embarks to become a US $ 5 trillion economy. Addressing the Ministerial Meeting of Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity in Tokyo today, Shri Pradhan said India’s demand for Steel shall be a driver of its capacity expansion. “I wish to emphasize that with rapid economic & infrastructural development in India, the demand of steel has seen substantial increase and is expected to increase further in the future as embarks to become a US $ 5 trillion economy by 2024. Furthermore, India is committed to spend about US $ 1.4 trillion on its infrastructure development in the next five years. All this augurs well for the steel demand in the country. We are determined to raise the per capita consumption of steel from its current low of 72 kg per capita to 160 kg per capita by 2030. India’s demand for steel shall always be the driver of its capacity expansion”, he said.
On the issue of the steel excess capacity, Pradhan said that steel sector in India is deregulated and is driven by market forces. As it is well known, India does not contribute or suffer from excess capacity. “We are mindful and conscious of the problems, which originate from excess capacity, and thus respect the principles laid down by this forum.”, he added.
Source: PIB
